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Hwasaan, Kang - Incidental Dominion in Life
Hwasaan, Kang - Incidental Dominion in Life
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Goowon Kang, ‘The Chance’s Chefs-d’Oeuvres
- A Primitive Expressionism’
written and translated by Tongjoo Min /Art Critic

Goowon Kang’s recent artwork, ‘The Chance’s Chefs-d’Oeuvres - A Primitive Expressionism’ has gone
through significant changes in style from his previous work entitled ‘The Chance’s Chefs-d’Oeuvres -
Stillness and Movement.’ In his previous artwork, the artist used to refine the center of his canvas as if in
a ritual of self-purification through meditation, while his forms borne of vertical and horizontal lines had
been pushed away to the periphery. Nevertheless, the invisible yet distinct barrier between the center
and the peripheral ladder-shaped forms seems to have collapsed in his current work and, as a result,
the color spaces created by loose lines and vivid colors dance wildly. The strained solid sea surface has
shattered and the forms, now unstable and shatter-prone, rush into the center of the canvas. It is like
something wriggling under the placid water has just jumped out breaking its stillness. The peace that
used to hang over the calm water surface disappears and the sea starts rolling mercilessly.

The relatively light and clear colors of the previous artwork are hard to be seen now, and the heavy and
turbid colors like black and gray seem to float in the middle. The chance operations, which have long
made the subject of the artist’s persistent pursuit, make more vigorous appearances than ever. For the
artist, chance is part of the Nature’s Order and would mean God’s will or the force that helps to com-
plete his unfinished work by acting on where man’s will cannot reach. The unexpected turns that take
place as a result of chance operations make him understand the presence of the irrefutable Order and
see the inevitable disguised beneath chance. As the artist incorporates within his artwork the wondrous
gifts that chance brings about under the Nature’s Order, it seems only natural for him to use flexibility
and agility of his strokes as when he does ‘croquis’, the sketching technique based on the same skills,
instead of sweating to refine the center of his canvas.

The spirit that lies behind this attitude is implied, if not grasped directly, in his eager anticipation of
chance operations. At this point, we find ourselves wondering why he puts so much emphasis on them.
The answer is in his being as humble as he could get, convinced of God’s will which intervenes when his
own efforts and good will are all exhausted. Thus chance becomes an alias of hope and prayer.

Figurative Images and Chance as Signs
The color spaces and the brush strokes are the reified signs of actual objects or movements. Since
figuration has a concrete objective in view, there can be no place for chance operations. Yet, imagery
or spirit cannot materialize in figurations, and they may allow a certain degree of chance operations.

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